In the technical field of the production of chains for items of jewelry, and in the goldsmithery field in particular, it is known to provide decorations on the surface of the chain, for example, by engraving one or more marks with a cutting tool such as a diamond cutter. Decorations of different geometrical configurations and aesthetic effects can be produced depending on the preselected speed of relative translational movement between the chain and the tool, as well as on the cutting movement of the tool itself.
This method is used effectively for all chains with so-called flat links, that is, chains in which the rectilinear profile of the surface of the chain to be decorated enables diamond engraving to be produced over the entire surface as a result of the relative transitional movement between the tool and the chain.
However, if the chain has a surface with a curved profile, the known method has clear limitations since the cutting movement of the tool enables the surface to be engraved only partially and cannot therefore be used when a decoration extending over the entire curved profile of the surface is required. This situation arises, for example, in items of jewelry formed by chains known in the art of the term “OMEGA-shaped chains,” which have outer surfaces having convex curved profiles.